CHENNAI: Hours after being sworn in as the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa's trusted lieutenant O Panneerselvam left for Bangalore with his senior Cabinet colleagues to call on the AIADMK supremo, who is in prison there after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case.
Senior party leaders and cabinet ministers, including Natham R Viswanathan, R Vaithilingam, Edapadi Palanisamy, C Vijayabaskar, K C Veeramani and B V Ramana also accompanied the CM on the private flight, airport sources said.
Panneerselvam was sworn-in as the Chief Minister to head the 31-member Council of Ministers by Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah in a low-key function at the Raj Bhavan here this afternoon.
A Special Court in Bangalore had on September 27 convicted Jayalalithaa and sentenced her to four years imprisonment in the disproportionate assets case, resulting in her automatic disqualification as MLA under the Representation of People Act.
Jayalalithaa and three others convicted in the case are now lodged in Parappana Agrahara prison on the outskirts of Bangalore.